Girl, 14, Charged In Death Of Newborn Son In Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ — The Middlesex County prosecutor announced Monday night they found the teen mother of the newborn baby boy found abandoned Monday afternoon in Highland Park.

The newborn baby boy has died, and the mother, 14, was charged with a juvenile offense that, had she been above 18, would have been a first-degree murder charge, Middlesex County prosecutor Andrew Carey said.

An unrelated woman discovered the newborn baby boy outside her home on Lincoln Avenue at around 1 p.m. Monday, and called 911. The woman who discovered the child told News 12 her mother first saw the baby lying near the side of the house, and at first they thought it was a doll. The woman called 911, and the infant was rushed to Robert Wood University Hospital in New Brunswick where the baby was pronounced dead.

An autopsy by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner will be scheduled.

Based on a preliminary investigation by the Highland Park Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, it has been determined that the 14-year old mother caused the death of her newborn baby boy, Carey said.

The teenager, whose identity is being withheld because of her age, is being held at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center pending her initial court appearance tomorrow at Middlesex County Family Court.

The teenager was charged in a juvenile complaint today with murder in the first degree.

There was a heavy police presence on Lincoln Avenue, just off Rt. 27, in Highland Park all Monday afternoon.

NJ.com reported that the newborn baby was alive when he was found on the side of the home Monday afternoon, but declared dead at the hospital.

The infant’s death is being investigated by Detective Sean McGraw of the Highland Park Police Department and Detective Erik Larsen of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective McGraw at (732) 572-3800, or Detective Larsen at (732) 745-3263.

Two more babies found in New Jersey this week, one dead, one alive

The incident happened just a day after a newborn baby was found — alive — in a duffel bag that was left on the home of a porch in Trenton. The baby was no more than two days old when it was found on Sunday, although it is unknown how long the baby had been on the porch. Incredibly, that baby survived; the newborn was taken to a hospital for treatment, and is in good health.

Last Wednesday, the body of a deceased 10-month-old baby girl was found in a suitcase near the PATH tracks in Jersey City, the Jersey City Patch reported. The baby's body was found in the early afternoon of April 11 just off the train tracks underneath the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge in Jersey City, the Hudson County prosecutor's office said.

No arrests have been made in any of the incidents so far.